We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Ariana Nicole George. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Ariana Nicole below.
Hi Ariana Nicole, thanks for joining us today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?
I am so fortunate to have supportive parents who stand behind my artistic pursuits. They came to every show. signed me up for classes & workshops, drove me to and from rehearsals until I got my license. However, I am also so grateful that they worked hard to make sure I had options available to me. My parents made sure I knew the steps it would take for me to pursue this career and they taught me how to advocate for myself. They also encouraged me to pursue a liberal arts education, where I could not only focus on my musical theatre and voice-acting education but also have a degree that would allow me the flexibility to pursue a corporate job should I ever decide to go that route. Even if I never pursue work outside of performing long-term, it is nice to know I have the option (and it’s already helped me gain some great work experience post-grad!).
Even though that is what worked for me, I want to emphasize that path is certainly not for everyone, and that’s okay. There really is no right way to do it! We all have different paths to success, and I am as grateful for mine as I am for the other ones that I could’ve taken. Really, I am most grateful for my parents’ unequivocal support along the way.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
Hi! My name is Ariana Nicole George and I’m a voice-actor and performer based in Los Angeles, CA. I’ve been working professionally in the industry since 2021 but I’ve been acting since I was about 10 years old. From 2009 to now, I’ve performed in many musical productions, and from 2011 to now I’ve been voice-acting.
I remember the day I first discovered voice-acting through YouTube—there were many independent animated series running and I had come across one, and subsequently found the audition videos people were posting. It was like my brain chemistry changed that day. I remember thinking: “You can do that?”
The rest is history. Now, I’m making a career out of that little girl’s dream. Working in animation, video games, dubbing, and more has been a journey I am thrilled to be on. And performing on stage has been a huge part of that, too!
My dream is to be a beacon of inspiration for others to pursue the arts. There were people in my life who did that for me, and my goal now is to do it for all the others who were uncertain about taking that leap like I have been at many points in my life. My other dream is a little more specific: I want to prove that girls with a lower range and textured voices can be anything they want to be. Sure, we can be the tomboys, femme fatales, mothers, or fierce warriors. But we also can be the ingenues, girly-girls, princesses, girls-next-door, sweet & shy classmates—the list is endless. I am always working to encourage that horizon to expand.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
This sort of goes back to my main goal as an artist. The most rewarding part is when someone tells me that I am the reason that they decided to pursue a career in the arts. Building this community is so important to me, and to know that I made enough of an impact on someone’s life that made them decide they wanted to be a part of this wonderful industry is the most I could ever ask for.
What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?
PAY YOUR ARTISTS & KEEP US AROUND. We deserve fair wages and fair treatment—this career is NOT as easy as people make it out to be. The amount of hours we dedicate to auditions per week and money we invest in often integral equipment (sound booths, self-tape setups, etc.) vs. the number of jobs actually secured is staggering. Auditioning at the very least should somehow be included in our wages. In order to achieve eligibility for healthcare with SAG-AFTRA (the actor’s union), you must make at least $26,470 a year from union jobs. How many do you think achieve that threshold? Only 12.7%.
What’s more, with the recent surge of AI, we are struggling more than ever to keep our careers from becoming obsolete. It is not lost on me that AI can do a lot of good for the world in a lot of ways, such as increasing accessibility. But we are beyond that point right now, and it is hurting humanity and REAL people. It needs to stop. I constantly see comments online like “The world is evolving, grow up” or “Get a real job”—when did artists become undeserving of human decency & compassion? If you’ve ever watched a TV show, movie, played a video game, or consumed art in any way and still support AI art taking away our jobs because “artists aren’t necessary to our world”, I am unsure of how to proceed.
All I can do is plead with you to put yourself in our shoes and really take a moment to listen when we tell you why actors are fighting for a better deal.
Contact Info:
- Website: ariananicolegeorge.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ariananicolegeorge/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ariananicolegeorge
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ariananicolegeorge747/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/arianangeorge
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ariananicolegeorge
- SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/artist/05pIuhuF8PwLSnBZZJXjsA?si=Nav5oBgQROSsqwHDBnolAQ&nd=1
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4480895/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0
Image Credits
Cat Artwork by CoughingFish Nile Scott Hawver, Brayden Hade, Craig Bailey, Samantha Raskin